fashion
Into the West: Cowboy Boots
Cowboy boots! I love them! My favorite are the rugged, no-nonsense, no-frills kind — the kind that only look better the more dirt you get on them.
Though I can’t say I haven’t been tempted to get a pair with fun colorful patterns.
Especially when there are so many to choose from…
The Wife: The Reader
Research conducted by the Orange Prize for Fiction some time ago asked the following questions:
- How important is the gender of the author in our choice of books?
- To what extent are particular authors’ books perceived as being written mainly for women, for men or for both and on what basis is this judgment made?
- Do books written by women have to ‘work harder’ to sell to men than vice-versa?
Their work resulted in the following answers:
“From the survey, men are far more biased towards books written by men than women are to books written by women. They are easily put off buying books if they judge the cover design or title too feminine, regardless of actual subject matter of the book. Women on the other hand are less likely to judge a book’s suitability from its cover and less inclined to label a book a male or female read.”
It also showed:
“Of the 20 books chosen for the research…only one title, High Fidelity, was considered a male read and nonetheless over 50% of the female respondents said they would be interested in reading it. Yet less than 30% of men would choose to read the books deemed to be female reads (12 of remaining 19) which include The French Lieutenant’s Woman and Tales of the City (both by men).”
So I wonder, did Mr. Hornby’s fan base, which clearly consists of a strong male presence, need much convincing to read How To Be Good? And did the cover designers take this into consideration?
Maneaters: El Matador
Let me be clear about this: I do not condone bullfighting. I think it is a cruel, barbaric,and unnecessary sport. I fully support PETA’s campaign in Europe to end it.
I am, however, fascinated by the grace and glamour of the matador and can understand how Manet and Hemingway were inspired by them.